Hi guys,

I finally got my Harley Beach Bar Kit 56364-02 in today for my 2007 Heritage Classic.

I called my local dealer and they want $700 to install the kit. They stated that they would have to cut and lengthen the control wires to route inside of the bars.

My questions are:

1) The stock control wires look long enough to me. The stock bars sit up high and the beach bars are wider but shorter. From where the slots are mounted on the bars, it looks like there would be plenty of room without cutting.

2) Are the control wires a harness that "plugs" into some sort of control box, or will I have to cut the wires to route through the bars?

3) The kit came with some small risers, but can my stock riser work?

Any input would be helpful as I am contemplating the install myself.

Thanks HD Forum Members.

 

Changing bars is a big undertaking. I don't know if your wires are long enough, but my guess is that ifd they say they are not, then they are not. The wiring from the switch housings plug in under the front of the gas tank to a deutsch connector. There used to be a killer webiste that had a step by step for changing bards, but last time I went to find it, it was not there. The basic steps are...
Open switch housings
Remove or slide back gas tank and unplug wiring
disconnect throttle and idle cables, brake lines, clutch line and any other lines or cables
Lengthen your wiring from the switch housing
Run the wires through the bars, carefully so as not to kink them up at all
attach switch housings to new bars
attach connectors to new wiring and plug back in under tank
attach bars to risers (I don;t know if you need to use different risers)
reattach throttle and idle cables, clutch cable, fill up tranny with fresh oil(forgot to mention to drain the tranny)
adjsut all cables
make sure all electricks work
move bars back and forth to make sure ther is enough play in the cables
Ride away
I may have missed a few thing sor put them in the wrong order, but I am trying to give you a general idea of how much work it is. It is a lot of work. Take your time, get a manual and you can do it, but that is up to you.

 

The wires go to a multi-wire connector located under each side of the front of the fuel tank, I marked the location of each wire on paper then removed each wire from the connector, you need a small tool to release a small latch that holds each wire into the connector, I used a straight blade jewelers screwdriver to remove them from the connector, once they are all out of the connector the wires will fit out through the slots in the handle bars without cutting them,
On my 08 Fatboy I installed HD's narrow beach bars and the wiring was plenty long to reach without splicing,
On my 03 RoadKing I installed Chubby 508's and needed to extend all the wires, if you extend them you need to know how to solder, use heat shrink over the solder joints, stagger the splices so the wire bundle doesn't get to large to fit through the slot in the bars. Good Luck on your project

 

Just my 2 cents, but I think I'd get another quote and see if it matches or comes close. That does seema bit pricey to me, but I've never done the work. My dealer charges either 65 ot 70 an hour for shop time, that means, 10 hours shop time? seems high.

 

I called a local shop that quoted $350.00 for the install, but being broke as a convict, had to do the install myself. Buy a factory service manual, set aside about four nights, take your time and enjoy the install. Most places are not going to take the time to disassemble the factory connectors, but I wanted only one splice in each side and after finally figuring out how to get them apart and reassemble, it was no problem. 10 hours is probably pretty close, maybe longer if it is your first time, but well worth the savings. Shad

 

around 600 dollars sounds right. I have always done them myself though. Like mentioned. It's a big job. More than you think until you do it yourself the first time.

 

+1 I swapped out the bars and cables on my Springer recently (couldn't physically ride with apes any longer). It is doable, but it is a lot bigger job than I expected. Get a manual, take your time and plan to do it over a couple of days if need be so that you don't get rushed.

 

Deutche connectors are only a PITA if you have to change ends. The tool that does it right is very expensive. I suggest making a map of BOTH sides of the connector, and also idexing the junction box itself with a little paint or a Sharpie. A jewelers screwdriver or a dental pick is fine for releasing the locks. I've helped change bars on a '03 RKC and a '01 Heritage recently and it didn't seem like too big a deal. Neither required lengthening the wires, although the RKC would have been easier to extend the wires when it came to getting the junction blocks under the handlebar clamp cover. I think the toughest part of both conversions was getting the aftermarket MC with a new line bled. A quick way to tell if the wires are long enough is to measure the stock and replacement distances with a peice of string. 1 1/4" bars are easy to get the wires through, you can pretty much push them from the grip end and then snag them with a small pair of needlenose when they get to the middle.

 

You might also want to get some polyurethane riser bushing from Harley. $35 if I remember correctly.

 

i just did the same thing on my 06, it took about 4 hours with an hour of that trying to get the brake to bleed. i didn't need to extend the wires, they are plenty long enough. the connectors are the easiest connectors that i have ever had to remove the wires from. you can use a small flat blade screw driver to get the wires to come out.